Let us know what you think about global environmental issues. Here you can read and respond to the opinions* of some of IUCN’s thousands of experts, members and partners. We hope you will take part in the discussion - your opinion matters.

When I saw the news yesterday I was overcome with sadness and spent a great deal of time thinking about Lonesome George and all he had meant to both me personally and to the world of species conservation in general, says Anders G.J. Rhodin, M.D., Chairman Emeritus, IUCN Species Survival Commission's (SSC) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. …

Europe is in a crisis. An economic and euro crisis. Merkel and Sarkozy dominate the front pages of our newspapers. At the moment economists and their analyses seem to interest even more people than the weather forecast. And the euro countries desperately try to collect 500 billion Euro to fill its emergency fund. This crisis is very vocal and hard to oversee. …

The world is increasingly urban, interconnected and shifting, writes Thomas Elmqvist. The world’s 20 fastest growing urban regions are in countries like China, India and Nigeria, not Europe or North America. By 2050, almost three billion more people will live in cities and the world will have undergone the largest and fastest period of urban expansion in all of human history. …